Draven never truly intended to reward Green Serpent. This was just a tactic—mainly to intimidate that old Serpent Ancestor.

  After all, despite Gregor's example, Draven still harbored doubts about necromancy. He knew well that this dark magic wasn't easy to control and carried significant risks. Since Green Serpent had shown up, why not use him as a test subject?

  Green Serpent bore the mark of submission, which allowed Draven to fully control his actions. If Green Serpent's strength improved, it meant Draven's own power would grow. He decided to keep Green Serpent in the training ground, preparing for the summoning test.

  Draven turned and entered the stone house, only to find Viola and their companions already awake. Thanks to Sylvia's healing, their wounds had mostly mended.

  Elven magic was powerful, but not omnipotent. Some injuries, once damaged, couldn't be completely restored—though overall, their condition had improved considerably.

  Inside the stone house, four people busily prepared breakfast around the hearth, working together with a natural, intimate ease.

  Draven greeted them briefly, then led them toward the training ground. On the way, he briefly explained the plan.

  He intended to have Green Serpent try the necromancy spell, though he wouldn't casually reveal the spell's full secrets. So, he called on Viola and Sylvia to help inscribe the magic circle.

  They were both experts in this area—after all, they had designed even the thermostatic bath before.

  Besides that, Sylvia and Liliana were both at the leader-level of strength, so if Green Serpent succeeded in the summoning, they could take the opportunity to boost their combat abilities as well.

  What about Martha? They couldn't just leave her alone. Having just recently become close, this demi-human girl's emotions were sensitive and she needed company.

  More importantly, exposing her to stronger power would serve as motivation. Like Viola, Martha was at the pinnacle of the high-bloodline warriors—breaking through to leader-level was only a matter of time.

  So Green Serpent witnessed this scene: Viola and Sylvia working together to inscribe the magic circle, Martha curiously following nearby, trying to imitate their movements.

  Liliana was just tagging along for fun. As a druid girl, she had little talent for magic circles—at best, she didn't cause trouble.

  Green Serpent himself sat quietly on the side, nervously memorizing the incantations his master taught.

  Though Green Serpent didn't fully understand what his master intended, the content of the incantation unsettled him. It was filled with references to undead and death souls—anyone hearing it would feel fear.

  What made him even more uneasy was that the ritual required cutting the wrist to draw blood. To Green Serpent, this felt like one of those strange games girls sometimes played—deeply uncomfortable.

  Fortunately, the ordeal didn't last long. Viola and Sylvia successfully completed the magic circle's inscription. Then, under their watchful eyes, Green Serpent was blindfolded with an animal hide by Draven—like someone being led to execution—and positioned in the center of the circle.

  Bound by the mark of submission, Green Serpent had no right to refuse his master's orders. Gritting his teeth, he took the snake-headed curved blade and sliced his wrist.

  Drops of blood fell, accompanied by Draven's low, chilling incantation. The air suddenly turned icy cold, like a fierce winter night wind.

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  As the incantation continued, the magic circle began to glow. Pale green flames rose from the ground, spreading upward to surround the entire circle area.

  A flicker of surprise crossed Draven's eyes, but he failed to notice the disgusted expressions Sylvia and Liliana showed almost simultaneously. They disliked this dark magic.

  The flames gradually faded. Green Serpent's summoning succeeded. Standing before him was a skeletal mage cloaked in tattered robes.

  It was recognizable as a mage not only because of the iconic pointed hat but also due to the worn skeletal staff in its hand, radiating cold magic.

  The magic circle vanished. Draven instructed Green Serpent to remove his blindfold and asked how he felt.

  Weakly, Green Serpent replied,"Besides feeling a bit cold, nothing special…"

  Hearing this, Draven nearly laughed aloud. Apparently, Green Serpent didn't understand the true terror of necromancy—but that was perfect for a test subject.

  This guy didn't know whether it was because he was too nervous or because his eyes were covered, but he cut his own wrist with unusually fierce force.

  The blood flowed quickly—almost fast enough to make one wonder if he had cut too deep. If the summoning hadn't ended so soon, his wrist might have bled dry.

  Seeing this, Draven hurriedly told him to stop and ordered him to dismiss the skeletal mage he had just summoned. After all, when Gregor summoned his death knight years ago, the wounds on his wrist healed on their own. This time was no different.

  Sure enough, when Green Serpent dismissed the skeletal mage, the wound on his wrist rapidly disappeared. In its place appeared a black skeletal staff mark, clearly branded on his skin.

  Green Serpent stared at the mark, suddenly breaking into a bright expression and excitedly shouting,"Necromancer!"

  Although still weak, he repeatedly thanked Draven, grateful to his master for granting him such powerful support. His excitement almost made him forget his fatigue.

  Draven waved his hand, signaling him not to be so formal, but immediately asked Green Serpent for details. He wanted to know just how powerful this necromancer really was.

  Green Serpent did not dare to hide anything. He said the necromancer he summoned was roughly equivalent to a mid-level leader—already a very strong presence. More importantly, this skeletal mage was skilled in various necromantic spells, especially the ability to awaken corpses to fight again.

  This caught Draven's attention. Although the necromancer's power wasn't yet strong enough to raise corpses above mid-level leaders, being able to summon a few dead bodies on the battlefield would definitely complicate the fight.

  Draven immediately felt more hopeful. Once Green Serpent left, he planned to let him rest well and quickly familiarize himself with controlling the necromancer. Once mastered, this power would surely prove very useful in the future.

  Green Serpent entered with a sullen face but left smiling. He hadn't expected that submitting to his master would bring such great rewards. This only strengthened his resolve to cling tightly to his master.

  After all, compared to the days of hanging out with the Red Serpent and the others—when he was just a neglected third elder—his current status and power were incomparable. Following his master, at least he had a chance to grow stronger and no one could bully him at will.

  Draven watched Green Serpent leave, a satisfied smile on his face. He immediately turned to find Sylvia, wanting to confirm if the necromancy summoning had any hidden dangers.

  Although Sylvia affirmed the spell's feasibility, the worry furrowing her brow made Draven uneasy.

  "What's wrong? Is there a problem with the necromancy summoning?" Draven asked directly.

  Sylvia hesitated, then said,"It should be fine, Draven, but I suggest you don't use it too often."

  "Why?" Draven pressed urgently.

  "Because the realm of the dead inherently belongs to the evil faction," Sylvia explained,"and the undead creatures summoned carry an aura of evil..."

  Draven waved his hand dismissively. Evil aura? So what? Why would he care about such a minor thing? As long as it didn't harm his body, it was a good thing.

  He decided to ignore Sylvia's advice and continued pushing the plan forward.

  Sylvia still helped him inscribe the magic circle again. She mentioned that neither she nor Liliana could use necromancy.

  Because the pure righteous power flowing through the druid and elven bloodlines naturally conflicted with the evil aura of the undead, they could never successfully summon.

  Hearing this, Draven sighed, feeling like two precious opportunities had been wasted. But then he thought, there was no use forcing it—and neither Sylvia nor Liliana truly needed such aid.

  He recalled the conversation from the previous night, which mentioned the Beast Taming Ring. Liliana firmly refused to sign a contract with the two short-horned demon bulls. She insisted that they were her friends and promised the bulls would never cause trouble.

  If she wouldn't even contract with the short-horned demon bulls, let alone the undead carrying the aura of death...

  But Draven's attitude was different. To him, whether a cat was black or white, as long as it caught mice, it was a good cat.

  He began quietly reciting the incantation, rubbing his hands impatiently, his eyes full of anticipation.